[Community Television] Fwd: BBC finding show viewers want 'local tv news'

[Michelle McGuire]

Forwarded From: local.tv at virgin.net
(Apologies for cross posting)

Begin forwarded message:

'Scottish Six' idea dropped

BBC Scotland will not pursue the idea of a "Scottish Six" news 
programme following a major review of output.

At a series of public meetings and in a poll, viewers said they were 
happy with the present Reporting Scotland format.

In the survey of 1,090 people, 45% said they were in favour of the 
status quo while 38% wanted an integrated hour of national and 
international news produced in Scotland.

Another 17% said they had no view. BBC Scotland controller John 
McCormick welcomed the results of the review.

"This is the most comprehensive review ever undertaken into our 
journalism and the key finding is a high level of satisfaction with the 
range of programmes we provide," he said.

Survey findings
45% favour present 6pm-7pm format
38% want 'Scottish Six'
81% want local tv news
57% want local radio news
60% want Scottish headlines on News 24

"At the same time it gives us a number of pointers as to how we can 
strengthen and develop our output and we'll now address these in the 
year ahead."

There were calls for interactive "on demand" options which could 
provide viewers with additional Scottish news on News 24.

People also wanted political programmes which focused on review rather 
than procedure and included direct questioning of politicians by 
members of the public.

On television and radio, there is an increased expectation that the 
BBC, which has 11 staffed centres across Scotland, should provide 
richer coverage of local or regional news in addition to its national 
news service.

Regional service

The review's final report says: "The unexpectedly high demand for local 
news on tv and radio was one of the key messages to emerge... and BBC 
Scotland will examine how it might provide a stronger regional news 
service considering the options for all services - radio, television 
and online."

BBC Radio Scotland news output was also highly appreciated by its 
listeners, although awareness of its programmes needed to be increased, 
particularly among younger listeners and those in the south of Scotland.


"The first task must be to extend listening further into existing 
audience segments by promotion and cross-trailing, then to appeal to a 
younger and more female demographic through editorial and presentation 
and targeted promotion," the report goes on.

Overall, satisfaction with output on television, radio and online was 
high, with respondents saying that BBC Scotland news and current 
affairs programmes were vital for the health of Scottish society and 
democracy.

BBC Scotland said the survey showed strong appreciation of the current 
range of programmes.

Among regular Newsnight viewers, 74% said they wanted the current 
format to stay as it is. Only 8% wanted the Scottish opt-out dropped 
altogether.

Newsnight Scotland is to continue in its current slot.

Political reaction

The former deputy Scottish Secretary, George Foulkes, said he and his 
Labour colleagues feared that Scotland would have become "parochial and 
inward-looking" if the Scottish Six proposal had gone ahead.

The Shadow Scottish Secretary, Peter Duncan, also welcomed the findings.

The Tory MP said there was "no demand" for a change and that the 
current format gave a fair reflection to Scottish issues.

However, the Scottish National Party is tabling a special motion in the 
Commons attacking the decision.

Its Westminster leader Alex Salmond described the announcement as 
"disastrous".

The party accused the corporation of running scared of the government, 
claiming the BBC did not want another confrontation.